The Avril Lavigne conspiracy theory that hasn't died yet, just like Avril Lavigne
Well, the conspiracy theory that Avril Lavigne died in 2003 and was replaced by lookalike is making the rounds again. In the words of Avril or fake Avril's underrated 2011 banger, "What the hell?"
Brazilian fans were the first to notice something was awry, and the fansite Avril Esta Muerta put forth a case back in 2011.
The gist of it is that Lavigne was upset by either her parents' divorce or her grandfather's death, depending on who is typing furiously into the void. That, combined with the mounting pressures of fame, prompted Lavigne to take her own life. Changes in Lavigne's appearance and increasing comfort in the spotlight are cited as evidence, because that's not a totally normal thing that happens to every pop star.
But, since a unified theory of an Avril Lavigne doppelgänger just isn't complicated enough, the great conspiracy has some splinters.
For example, as Gawker pointed out back in 2015, some version of Lavigne was at the grocery store buying cheese when she was supposedly immobile due to her struggle with Lyme disease. Maybe the original Avril actually had a happy ending where she stopped dealing with the bullshit of of fame, never married into the Nickelback empire, and just kinda chills out in Victoria's Secret hoodies in the dairy aisle free of chronic illness.
Or perhaps, instead, Lavigne is dead after all and someone named Melissa released "Here's to Never Growing Up" as a tribute to the pop star she replaced, eternally frozen in her youth. Lyrics from "Slipped Away" have also been put forth as evidence for the conspiracy. According to Avril Esta Meurta, which I would like to nominate for a Pulitzer, Avril 2.0 feels guilty about "participating in this farce" and has been trying to send subliminal messages through her lyrics.
The theory lives on, and seems to have been revived thanks to, of course, a Twitter thread.
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The "evidence" being tweeted most recently focuses on details that can change over the years, or even from day to day, caused by events much less dramatic than death.
Eye shape, for instance, can appear different based on eye makeup. And do we even need to get into mysterious changes to people's faces once they get famous?
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A handwriting sample is also a point of contention for fans.
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Mashable has not hired a forensic handwriting expert to debunk that particular claim. You're on your own there.
Topics Celebrities
Tricia Gilbride was a Reporter for Mashable Watercooler. Tricia focused on the intersection of celebrity culture and the Internet. Previously, she worked as a fashion writer and a social media manager. She also edits Women-Artists.org, a blog and annual print publication, and looks exactly like her cat.
